After reading Florence Fong’s post “MLSE Devoted to Canadian Brand“, discussing how CEO Tim Leiweke selected a Canadian sponsor (Canadian Tire) in the place of Rona’s choice of discontinuing its contract with the Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. By avoiding foreign owned retailers, she discusses Leiweke’s strategy to maintain the interest of the Canadian public and differentiate its company. Her blog post made me realize the importance of understanding the demographics and psychographics of customer segments, especially in a hockey crazed country like Canada.
For MLSE customers, the choice to stay close to home through Canadian sponsors reiterates an unified country identity and support. The “Canadian” brand associated with hockey has assisted companies with their marketing strategy, as Florence mentioned, however, marketing under the umbrella of “hockey” also requires strategies of differentiation to reach an unique position within the industry. When I read the article Blood, sweat – and tears: Scotiabank shoots at hockey’s softer side , linking many concepts mentioned in Florence’s post, I recognized many points of differences that Scotiabank pursued to maintain the interest of the Canadian public amidst the oversaturated hockey advertisements. They began with market research, assessing the landscape of hockey advertisements and realized that many marketing campaigns were filled with “chiaroscuro shots” of NHL stars, constant reminders of heritage, and dramatic music. Scotiabank established an unique position by using humour to remind customers that they not only sponsored the National Hockey League, but also community hockey teams in Canada. For a more authentic and homely approach, they listened to the feedback of their customer segments, and delivered a mixture of humour, charm and authenticity with their emotive campaigns filled with humour and heart. Professor Norm O’Reilly of Ohio University, specializing in sports marketing and adviser with TrojanOne conducted research and found that “when people connect brands to the values they care about in the causes, events or organizations the brands sponsor, those associations can affect their attitudes deeply”. Sponsors like Scotiabank seek to tie themselves with values that resonate with Canadians, eventually influencing the intent of consumers as well as the affinity to the companies. Both MLSE and Scotiabank understood their customer segments while used different channels to improve their respective brandings through the common theme of hockey.
See the mesh of emotions and humour delivered as part of the “Fifth Season” in Canada campaign by Scotiabank: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9H8goUvI4t4
Source: John Cairns Blog #hockey #sorrynotsorry http://johncairnsblog.wordpress.com/2014/02/22/sorry-all-the-other-sports-hockey-is-the-best-part-of-the-winter-olympics-bar-none/
Works Referenced:
Krashinsky, Susan. “Blood, Sweat – and Tears: Scotiabank Shoots at Hockey’s Softer Side.” The Globe and Mail. The Globe and Mail Inc, 2 Oct. 2014. Web. 30 Oct. 2014. <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/marketing/blood-sweat-and-tears-scotiabank-shoots-at-hockeys-softer-side/article20898455/>.
Krashinsky, Susan. “Marketing Sponsorships Relying on Blind Faith.” The Globe and Mail. The Globe and Mail Inc, 11 July 2014. Web. 30 Oct. 2014. <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/marketing/many-marketing-sponsorships-flying-blind-on-effectiveness/article19576464/>.